Whale Magic in Ojo de Liebre last week!

On January 6th, my daughter Sirena, her husband Adrian and my 3 year old grandson Izaak set out to Ojo de Liebre calving lagoon near Guerrero Negro, more than excited to see some of our old whale friends again. Izaak couldnt wait and ran down to climb aboard the panga named after his Mama!






We were curious to find out how many whales were in the lagoon as reports from California indicated that the southern migration was much earlier this season. Whale spotters at Point Vicente in Rancho Palos Verdes counted 364 gray whales heading south to Baja California in December, whereas only 182 were counted during the same period in 2012. The record count is far higher than in 2010, when observers saw just 38 gray whales in December.

Our first day on the water was a beauty and as expected we saw more whales in the lagoon than ever before at this early date. We estimated seeing about 30-40 whales in the very inner lagoon, half of them with newborn calves. Many of the mothers were sleeping after their long migration and childbirth and the huge pregnant females were just lounging around waiting, often accompanied by another adult whale.



We were particularly looking for whales in labor and found one we thought may be giving birth as she was lifting her head out of the water on every breath which is abnormal. We stayed with this whale about 15 minutes to photo identify it and noted that it’s breathing was unusual as she was chortling at every exhale as if she was having respiratory problems. I hope it is just a cold and she survives.



We observed 3 different “nursing groups” with several cow/calf pairs together in an area whose calves are about the same age. Each group often has what I think is an elder grandmother present to watch over the new families.

When we stopped to meet an adult pair, they immediately turned towards our panga and came over to check us out. As is the custom, they circled the boat a few times and passed underneath us as they got to know us.



When they were satisfied we weren’t a threat, they came right up to the boat and turned over on their side to gaze into our eyes. My grandson was thrilled and asked if the whale was going to touch him!



They didn’t mind a little chin rub while they watched us and we all had a chance to make physical contact with the friendlier of the two whales who seemed very relaxed and accustomed to humans.

This whale we have named Eyezak as she spent such a long time looking into Izaak’s eyes.



The whales stayed with us for about an hour after which we had to leave them and they followed us a ways wanting to hang out longer!

It was a wonderful omen for the season to begin with such a magical encounter.

Great report Shari, looking so forward to your trip in March

Thanks for posting pix Shari Your nieto looks muy guapo saludos desde Socal-Ca
Hasta la proxima,

Quote:

Originally posted by shari On January 6th, my daughter Sirena, her husband Adrian and my 3 year old grandson Izaak set out to Ojo de Liebre calving lagoon near Guerrero Negro, more than excited to see some of our old whale friends again. Izaak couldnt wait and ran down to climb aboard the panga named after his Mama! We were curious to find out how many whales were in the lagoon as reports from California indicated that the southern migration was much earlier this season. Whale spotters at Point Vicente in Rancho Palos Verdes counted 364 gray whales heading south to Baja California in December, whereas only 182 were counted during the same period in 2012. The record count is far higher than in 2010, when observers saw just 38 gray whales in December. Our first day on the water was a beauty and as expected we saw more whales in the lagoon than ever before at this early date. We estimated seeing about 30-40 whales in the very inner lagoon, half of them with newborn calves. Many of the mothers were sleeping after their long migration and childbirth and the huge pregnant females were just lounging around waiting, often accompanied by another adult whale. We were particularly looking for whales in labor and found one we thought may be giving birth as she was lifting her head out of the water on every breath which is abnormal. We stayed with this whale about 15 minutes to photo identify it and noted that it’s breathing was unusual as she was chortling at every exhale as if she was having respiratory problems. I hope it is just a cold and she survives. We observed 3 different “nursing groups” with several cow/calf pairs together in an area whose calves are about the same age. Each group often has what I think is an elder grandmother present to watch over the new families. When we stopped to meet an adult pair, they immediately turned towards our panga and came over to check us out. As is the custom, they circled the boat a few times and passed underneath us as they got to know us. When they were satisfied we weren’t a threat, they came right up to the boat and turned over on their side to gaze into our eyes. My grandson was thrilled and asked if the whale was going to touch him! They didn’t mind a little chin rub while they watched us and we all had a chance to make physical contact with the friendlier of the two whales who seemed very relaxed and accustomed to humans. This whale we have named Eyezak as she spent such a long time looking into Izaak’s eyes. The whales stayed with us for about an hour after which we had to leave them and they followed us a ways wanting to hang out longer! It was a wonderful omen for the season to begin with such a magical encounter.